Writing a theme statement.
By. Jaelon Dirden & Isaac Figeroua
What is a theme?
A theme is a central message of a literary work. Not the same as a subject, A subject is not a theme because it can be expressed in one or two words.
Do's & Don'ts
Do's
- Do express the theme as an insight into life.
- Do express the theme in your own words.
- Do Draw a general insight from a characters behavior.
Don'ts
- Don't express the theme as a subject or topic
- Don't express the theme as a moral
- Don't refer to specific characters in a thematic statement.
Steps to writing a theme
- Choose an abstract concept that the work explores
- State what the literary work asserts about the abstract concept
- Write a sentence combing both ideas
Example of theme statements
- In Shakespeare's The merchants of Venice, Shakespeare explores the idea of loyalty by showing how adamant the characters can be about their friendships.
- In Shakespeare's The merchants of Venice, Shakespeare shows the theme of revenge by showing how the characters will stop at nothing to get back at people.
- In Shakespeare's The merchants of Venice, Shakespeare shows the theme of love by showing how passionate two characters can be with each other.